Viennawalks is a substantial book, with four detailed walking tours. It contains some of the basic information, such as transportation, eating, telephone usage, and banking (no hotel or restaurant listings). The main part of the book are guided walks around four parts of the city. The Stones of Vienna takes you through the oldest buildings, including the Jewish quarter; Vienna Gloriosa passes St. Stephen's Cahtedral, Mozart's Apartment, the Old University; Noble Vienna navigates through the Hofburg (Hapsburg's residence); and Fin de Siecle Vienna looks at turn of the century art and architecture (Otto Wagner's designs, including the Karlsplatz subway station, the museum of fine arts and the Secession). The descriptions are rich in history are are quite detailed (60-70 pages per walk). It is very readable and contains a few pictures. If you want to take one or more leisurely walks through Vienna, and have the time to go slowly enough to soak up the information from the book and the sites in front of you, then this book is highly recommended.

Viennawalks is simply the best book of its type I have ever read. I first bought it in 1985 and have read it each time before I left for Vienna (at last count, eight!). The author's writing style is unlike any walking tour book you have ever encountered - it reads like a novel. One can tell from the descriptions and antidotes that the author is truly in love with the subject - and it shows! By books end, you feel as though you know the Author. I only wish he would write a volume II that explores the neighborhoods outside of the innerestadt (like Hietzing, Neubau, Spittelburg and Mariahilf). I would be the first in line to buy it. One word of advice to the potential reader - Reading the book before you go is certainly advisable, however, it won't mean a whole lot. But, after your return, you will not be able to put the book down! I have personally worn out 3 copies in the past 14 years! Good reading!

What I liked so much about the book is that it combines the best of journalism -- that of a vivid eyewitness account of unusual and often highly dramatic events -- with the best of literary writing, as a complex, engrossing, and beautifully written work. On New Year's Eve 1939, the teenage narrator is sent to her father in Vienna by the grandparents who have raised her, so that they can emigrate together. They do not succeed until she leaves, alone, in 1947, and the book describes her life during those eight years. Though it is a Holocaust account, I found the book not only gripping but almost uplifting. The narrator is Jewish but does not wear the star, and so she is both victim and bystander in the nightmarish world of Hitler's wartime Vienna. She describes persecutions, deprivations, and bomb attacks from this dual perspective, and finally also the battle for Vienna and the Russian occupation. Initially, she is a typical 15-year-old, sensitive and naïve, unselfish and self-absorbed, timid and reckless. What saves her seems to be her instinctive craving to "have a life", as she painfully and pluckily clings to the trivia of a "normal" existence even during those abnormal times. Thus she emerges at 23 -- or, at any rate, some fifty years later when she narrates the book -- as a sane, well-adjusted and life-affirming human being. The book is, at least in my view, superior to many other Holocaust memoirs because of the skill with which the author -- a professor of literature -- explores past and present, interweaving the eyewitness account of the participant teenage girl (authenticated by many direct diary quotes) and the observations of her adult self, which, half a century later, not only situates her childhood in the relevant historical context, but also analyzes her youthful self dispassionately, even critically, and thereby draws a complex and thought-provoking portrait of at least one survivor's mentality.

This is a map, not a book. Separate strips illustrate four different walks through Vienna, with an overall map for each and then a detailed description of places of interest ahead or to the right or left as you follow the trail. Shows each street to follow in turn from the starting point to the finish and cross streets passed as you walk along, to keep you oriented to where you are. We've enjoyed using them in Brussels, Munich, and Paris. It's a great idea; I wish Bert Lief had drawn them up for more than the 13 cities which are available.

This collection of articles and letters from a Buchwald survivor are quite interesting. A good book for anyone interested in psychology or the Holocaust

I'm not quite the author, and I'm not quite not the author! This book originally appeared in German, in 1983, in Vienna; I have translated it into English, added almost all the footnotes and the bibliography, and have written a new chapter, "From District to Empire."

Aside from my lifelong love of Austrian literature and my fascination with Heimito von Doderer, I was drawn to Pfeiffer's book by its practicality, its clarity, and its modesty. It makes none of the hugely overexalted claims many academic books feel they have to make, opting instead to present itself as part guidebook to the neighborhoods of Vienna which Doderer used in his novels, part biography of Doderer, and part interpretation of his two most significant works of fiction. But trust me, this is not "interpretation lite." Pfeiffer--a retired psychotherapist--offers a number of facts about Doderer's life and artistic process that won't be found elsewhere, and he presents trenchant, simple, and often highly original insights into the novels. His expert knowledge comes from his long friendship with Doderer's widow and other associates and from his position as curator of the Doderer memorial rooms at the Alsergrund District Museum in Vienna.

Pfeiffer is especially good at showing how broad background influences and "raw" topographical items and places become transmuted into the elements of imaginative writing; time after time, he traces the adjustments Doderer made to create out of his everyday surroundings genuine symbol-bearing places in his novels.

Pfeiffer is the "utility guy"--and I mean this in the very best sense--among the Doderer experts. Never holding an academic appointment, the very model of the private scholar, working for so many years on Doderer out of sheer love, he strips away the inessentials and shows the whole dynamic of Doderer's life, environment, and artistry working together. For that reason, he's also the "go to" guy, the man all the eminent scholars and professors turn to when they need clear information and cogent interpretation.

If you can't read German (would you be looking at this review otherwise?), I recommend you first read Michael Bachem's excellent book on Doderer (Twayne, 1982), then turn to Pfeiffer. His is a deceptively simple book you can't do without, and I think the experts will soon be saying the same.

Let's just hope now that some enterprising publisher will bring out Doderer's other great novel, The Strudlhof Steps, in English. It's already half finished by yours truly.

Read this helpful handbook, meantime, and if you get to Vienna, look up Pfeiffer at the museum, Währinger Stra�e 43, on any Wednesday from 10 AM to noon. He would love to see you!

This must by far be the best and most comprehensive book on Viennese Actionism available until now. As I understand from the colophon, even after 35 years the publisher was unable to find a printer in the UK that was prepared to agree to produce the book without excluding "some of the photographs". A shocking fact indeed, in my opinion. Fortunately, the remaining pictures are very good. In combination with the text a very enlightening book on the workings and especially the real intentions of this art movement, which has been feared, incriminated and/or discredited far too long now. A healing book.

Read this book and the four others. Two months later, I am reading the next series, The Zion Chronicles, about the fight in Jerusalem. I can't get enough now of WWII history! This book and the four others taught me so much. I was a little disappointed in the ending of the last book. It was excellent but some characters were not developed to their utmost. A hurried ending. I am just so impressed with these series, and I want another series with these characters expanded. I liked the character of Lucy and I think that she could have been developed more. I feel like these would make great movies- they aren't self-righteous, yet firm in their beliefs as Christians or Jews. Great books!

The Zion Covenant series, and its follow-up series, The Zion Chronicles, are some of the best books I have ever read. The character developments in the stories are amazing, the author does a remarkable job of bringing the characters to life. The books have a little for everyone: romance, adventure, history, etc. They are a fascinating account of WW II and many of the events of the time. Vienna Prelude is an excellent first novel of the series, it captures your attention and carries the plots brilliantly to the next book. I have read both series twice through, and plan to read them many more times!!

THE ZION CHRONICLES AND THE ZION COVENANT, ARE THE MOST FASCINATING BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ. THE AUTHOR DOESN'T LET YOU PUT DOWN THE BOOK, EVEN FOR 1 SECOND. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO INTERESTED IN HITLER'S STORY OR WHAT HAPPENED IN JERUSALEM UNTIL I READ THESE BOOKS. VIENNA PRELUDE IS SUCH A WONDERFUL BOOK, THAT I EVEN CRIED WHEN THEY WOULD TELL ALL THE UGLY STORIES OF HOW MANY PEOPLE WHERE SENTENCED TO LIFE AS SLAVES OR JUST SIMPLY NOT GIVEN ANY MORE RIGHT TO LIVE. I MEAN NOBODY HAS THE POWER (EXCEPT GOD) TO GIVE THAT RIGHT AWAY!!!! ELISA IS SO FULL OF LIFE AND SHE HAS A WONDERFUL LIFE WITH ALL HER FRIENDS AND LEAH OF COURSE! BUT EVERYTHING GOES WRONG WHEN HITLER STARTS HIS UGLY WAYS OF "GETTING RID OF JEWS". ELISA WAS ALMOST KILLED, RISKING HER LIFE TO HELP OTHERS ESCAPE THE PRE WORLD WAR II AUSTRIA. AGAIN, THIS IS THE GREATEST THRILLER THAT I HAVE READ IN MY LIFE

This book is an extremely well told story of a woman who, in order to survive The Holocaust, ends up marrying a man who ends up as a Nazi Officer.

Sorry to be crass, but this book is a real page turner.

Edith is an intelligent, warm & witty soul who had an extraordinary experience & luckily for us, has been brave enough to look back & write it all down.

It has an intimate quality, due largely to the fact that Ms. Hahn Beer has written it for her daughter who, born in a Nazi hospital, in 1944, wanted to know exactly what happened. Can you blame her?

If you are interested in Nazi Germany or The Holocaust this is a book you won't regret buying. In fact, I'm certain you'll remember it for the rest of your life.

First Rate!

I'm an 18-year old college student in India.My father had been to London recently where he ran into Ms.Angela at Harrods.Although,it was a chance meeting for him,it was a god-sent gift for me.She encouraged him to read a copy of "The Nazi Officer's Wife" written by her mother,Edith Hahn Beer.Although I must admit that war novels never interested me before,I was proven wrong by this one.

Once I started reading the book,I just couldnt put it down.Here is a simple,straightforward account of a Jewsih woman whose faith in her religion and her strength never let her down inspite of the horrendous perils that she had to face every minute of her life during the World War period.When I try to understand the pain in her heart when she was refused her University Degree,when she had to leave her Mother for the Asparagus fields,when she had nobody to turn to after her relationship with her boyfriend was heading no where,when she had to put on an endless charade amidst the core of the Nazi society,when she had to rely on God's mercy to keep her Jewish identity a secret,when she had to work as a maid in London after being an honoured Judge in Germany.....what can i say,its just unimaginable that this woman managed to survive through all this on her own.

There are so many lessons that this book has taught me.I can never stop admiring Edith Hahn Beer for her unshakeable faith that tomorrow is a better day.One of the most beautiful things I found in this book was the French saying "Life is beautiful and it begins tomorrow".It is so true that very few of us bother to realise its meaning!

And of course,how can I forget to mention how moved I was by this woman's love for her Mother.Her belief that she would be reunited someday with her Mother,her pangs of grief when "she sent me cake when she was hungry,mittens when she was cold"...and her resolution to do the same for her daughter(by trying to provide her the family which she herself never had around her)....these things go a long way in bringing out human emotions in their most tender and vulnerable forms.One cannot help but think inwardly what else one could have done under such terrible circumstances.

No doubt Ms.Beer's decisions were justified in every sense and they were ably supported by her virtues which we should all aspire to inculcate.

Throughout time, different cultures and groups of people have had varied ideas on what makes a hero. In Edith Hahn Beer's autobiography, The Nazi Officer's Wife, she tells what it was like to be the wife of a Nazi officer-and a Jewish woman with false identity papers at the same time. Some people have criticized Hahn for the manner in which she survived the Holocaust, by being married to the enemy while other Jews were dying in the Nazi concentration camps. Her inspiring autobiography, definitely worth reading, makes the reader admire in stead of criticize her. It tells the story of a young, afraid, hunted Jew living in Nazi Austria who overcomes adversity to become strong willed and brave, helpful to others, and hard working. These qualities are those of heroes, and are reasons why Edith Hahn Beer should be considered a hero or heroine.
One heroic quality that Edith demonstrates is that of her bravery and strong will. She remained cool when Nazi officers questioned her parent's lineage during her marriage ceremony. This is important because when she filed for her marriage to Werner Vetter, her papers had her registered as Grete Denner, a Christian. If the government had found out about this, the lives of both Edith and Christl Denner (the original owner of the papers) would be in jeopardy. Another brave thing that Edith does is listen to the BBC, and other foreign radio stations. This is a brave thing to do, because "Anybody who [listens to foreign radio stations] will go to Dachau or Buchenwald or Orianenburg or God only knows where." Finally, one major thing Edith does to demonstrate her amazing self control and bravery is to give birth to her daughter without any anesthetic. After working as Reich nurse, she had discovered that people giving birth had said all kinds of things that could get them in trouble with the government. "I began to remember all the patients I had seen who had come out of surgery or had been sedated during childbirth, and who said things that could incriminate them and their loved ones." After she is done, she goes on to say that in all of World War II, giving birth to her daughter was the only part in the war where she wanted to die. Going through this much pain to protect the people you love is quite heroic.
Throughout the course of the book, Edith proves herself to be very concerned about other people. She helps others even when it is potentially dangerous to her own self. In the beginning of the book, she becomes a nanny and tutor to a young woman named Christl Denner. As time goes by, Denner becomes like a little sister to Edith. Edith's mother goes on to say "When [Mr. Denner's] girls needed a substitute mother, someone to listen to them with a caring heart, you were there." The fact that Edith befriends Denner as a youth is crucial. Years later, Denner saves Edith's life. Christian Christl let Edith use her original identity papers, and reapplied for a set for herself. With these Christian papers, Edith could then function as an Aryan woman in Nazi Austria. Edith even helps complete strangers. A Nazi officer knocks on her door and says "... We have reason to believe there is a deserter hiding out in the vacant apartment.... Right above you. He would have been here last night. Did you hear any noise?" Even though she had heard footsteps, shuffling, and a creaking bed among other noises, she lied and said "No, Nothing." This act saved a complete stranger. If the government had found out that she lied about this, her whole cover as an Aryan housewife could have been blown. Finally, post war, Edith works shortly as a judge. People come to her requesting emigration papers, with custody battles, and with cases involving impoverished Russian children. She takes all these cases saying "Finally it was my turn to save someone's life." At the end of World War II, non-Aryan judges with proper credentials were in high demand. These people that Edith Hahn was among helped to restore order to the chaos that post-war Europe had become.
Finally, one last heroic quality found to be true to Edith Hahn Beer is that of her hard work and determination. Throughout the course of the war, she is forced to work in at least 2 places: an asparagus plantation in Osterburg, and a factory in Aschersleben. At the asparagus plantation, her fingers "ached as though they were broken" and her back "would not straighten," yet she was still considered one of the plantation's best working. Her hard work was important here, because it showed her inner drive. Even though this was something she wasn't exactly thrilled to be doing, she was still doing her best at it. Life was similar at the factory in Aschersleben. There, she helped cut boxes. Her planning and pacing resulted in having her quota raised twice. A good friend, Mina, went on to say "You are clearly one of 'Bestehorn's best'!" Hard work was important here for the same reasons that it was in Osterburg. As long as Edith was working for the government, she and her family were safe and in the Reich. Edith lastly proves her inner drive and hard work by crepe making. With the end of the war, Bradenburg (the city in which she lived) fell to the Russians. She evacuated with her young, measles stricken daughter, to a nearby city. There, she lived briefly with a farming family and soldiers, all going hungry. She told everyone to go to nearby farmers and bring back milk, eggs, jam, bread, and flour for Crepes. "All day long, as the men streamed into the little house, I made hundreds of delicate Viennese crepes for the Wehrmacht [German for armed forces] and the woman and her daughter served them." This gesture not only represented her willingness to help others, but her hard work helped to feed these starving German soldiers. Since this occurred post-war, this also represents her making amends with the German armed forces, once considered enemies. At the end of the war, she saw that many of them were just tired, beaten down, hungry men and this gesture of her hard work shows that.
There are many different kinds of heroes. There are political heroes, battle heroes, heroes who are innovators. Edith Hahn was none of the above. What made Edith Hahn Beer a hero was not one single deed, or necessarily one big achievement. Her persona, willingness to help others, bravery in hard times and her hard work left footprints in the hearts of those around her, and continues to touch those who read her autobiography. That is what makes Edith Hahn Beer a hero.

Lovely book, and great recipes. My only gripe is the lack of good pictures. I think when you are introducing a new cuisine such as Viennese, Hungarian, and some Czech recipes, it is important to have lots of pictures so the reader will have some idea of what the end product is going to be like. Some of Mr.Rodger's pictures are people sitting in a cafe, dogs with their owners, and others that are unrelated to food. (I did appreciate the old cafe interior shots -those made sense). He also chose not to add caption to any of his pictures which forced you keep flipping back to a photo credits page at the beginning of the book. Also some of the food pictures were not taken professionally.

The fonts used in the book are fairly small even though I have no problem seeing, it wasn't a comfortable read especially first few pages. He changes the font once he gets to the recipes to a slightly larger print. The size of the book (8x11 and 1/2" thick) was also smallish considering the price I paid....

Recipes? Sachertorte, Dobas Torte, a variety of coffee cakes including one with apricots, interestingly there was no Apple Kuchens (Don't Austrians eat a lot of apple cakes?); a very nice section on Strudels, he explains the technique and gives you a historical background (unfortunately only 2 pics here); Linzertorte is only one recipe, he gives the dark version with cocoa instead of traditional version, pudding section, and even a small section on coffees. Pictured is Eiskaffee, Maria Theresa, and Turkischer. The author talks about Maria Theresa in length (wonderful recipe with orange liquoer) but leaves recipes for EisKaffee (meaning coffee with ice cream and whipped cream -yummm) and Turkischer (Turkish coffee) out. Maybe next time?? Overall a good book you should check out.

Rick Rodgers' sumptuous cookery book travels through the history, romance and elegance of the coffee houses of Vienna, Budapest and Prague. His writing is both fluid and descriptive; the pictures a delight. The basic methods and detailed execution of the pastry, cake and bread recipes are easy to follow, as written. That being said, the "descriptive" part of the book is very hard to read. This is because the editor has chosen a very stylized font in what I would estimate is approximately 8 point. The recipes, while in the more conventional Times New Roman, are also in a point size not conducive to reading across a kitchen counter. I bought this book as a gift for my elderly mother, who lived in Vienna during her youth, but did not give it to her as I knew she would never be able to read such small print. Even with 20/40 vision and "relatively" young eyes, the book is difficult for me to read.

The other problem is the layout of the recipes on the pages. For example, the recipe for Sachertorte begins on the bottom of page 59 and resumes on the top of page 62. The recipe for Viennese Crescent Rolls begins on page 96 and resumes on page 98. Not a problem for someone reading this book as entertainment in an easy chair in the den, but definitely a problem for the cook who has the book in a book holder on a crowded kitchen counter.

Rick Rodger's latest book, Kaffeehaus, is a charmingly beautiful cookbook, that has interesting stories about the Cafe's of Vienna, etc., but also has some great recipes from the four I have made and sampled. A great brunch dish is the Milchrahmstrudel (warm cheese strudel with vanilla sauce). Varying textures and flavors, a very different dessert/brunch item. One of my favorties was the Berry Meringue Slices. The blueberries stay so plump and firm, and the meringue melts in your mouth. Easy and delicious. The Chocolate Cake (Renrucken) was definately a dessert that can serve a large crowd, and worth the search for Red Currant Jelly. The next recipe I am going to try is the Ischl Tartlets. I'll let you know how those turn out!
And as for the font, frankly I can't read any cookbook lately without my reading glasses....I have a pair in everypart of my house, and two in the kitchen. Unfortunately I am not 20/20 anymore.....
Sue in New Jersey